India Round Up - Towards A Big Change: Transforming Rural Indian Landscape

I have been touching upon and living in major cities in the U.S. and in India. After coming to U.S. in the latest outing, I have been living in Chicago and visited cities like New York, San Francisco, Milwaukee, Detroit, Dallas, Indianapolis, San Jose, Las Vegas etc. The 21st-century cities are mesmerizing because they blend innovation, cultural vibrancy and development in ways never seen before. For example, the city where I was living – Chicago was an epitome of architectural brilliance and stands tall with structures representing human ingenuity, growth and modern-day innovation. What are the biggest takeaways after living all these years in these great places. One area is it should positively impact the poorest of poor and common men living in home nation. If my struggle all through these years has any meaning, the home nation of India should be placed in cycles of growth and prosperity. My detachment should only increase the growth coefficient of the land, and my distance away from it should only do wonders for it. Our work at the highest level should substantially improve the lives at the bottom. In this episode, let us delve on how the India of 21st century should rise from bottom up – the development of villages and towns.  

India has several metro cities, with over 40 metropolitan regions that have populations exceeding 1 million. There are over 4,000 cities and towns across India. India is also home to more than 600,000 villages, forming the backbone of its rural economy and cultural heritage. How do we transform India's 600,000 villages into thriving hubs of opportunity while preserving their essential character? This question sits at the heart of India's most ambitious developmental challenge. As the nation races toward becoming a $5 trillion economy, approximately 65% of its population—over 900 million people—still calls rural India home. Yet, the magnetic pull of cities continues to draw millions away from their ancestral lands each year. Can we reverse this trend, or should we embrace a strategic "urban tilt" that transforms select villages into city-like centers of growth? 

The present-day rural India presents many formidable challenges. Some of those are - only 47% of rural households have access to piped water supply, compared to 71% in urban areas. Rural internet penetration stands at 37%, significantly lower than urban areas at 97%. Average rural household income is ₹10,816 per month, nearly three times lower than urban households at ₹29,398. Rural areas have 0.3 doctors per 1,000 people compared to 1.3 in urban areas. Agriculture still employs 50% of the workforce but contributes only 17% to GDP, indicating massive underemployment and low productivity. 

Cities continue to generate disproportionate economic value. India's top 10 cities contribute nearly 35% of the GDP while housing only 8% of the population. This concentration creates a gravitational pull that draws talent, investment, and innovation. Bengaluru alone generates more IT revenue than entire states combined, while Mumbai's financial district handles transactions worth trillions of rupees daily. 

Against these statistics, there is a tremendous need to uplift rural fortunes in the next 10 years to tap huge potential of the nation. Rural India houses 65% of the population under 35 years of age at this point of time —a massive demographic dividend that could drive growth if properly harnessed. We cannot let this demographic dividend slip away and need to act fast. Rather than letting this talent migrate to already overcrowded cities, investing in rural transformation could create a more balanced development model. The time is ripe for massive bottom-up change and activism in the country to lay a blueprint and implement it in the coming decade. The enablers of growth have done their job, and it is up to action happening on the ground with some efforts. 

As mentioned, the rich rural demographic dividend representing the world's largest young rural population, if properly harnessed, could drive unprecedented economic growth. However, current trends show this potential being wasted through mass migration to already overcrowded urban centers. Every year, approximately 9 million people migrate from rural to urban areas, creating a dual crisis. Rural areas lose their most productive human capital, while cities struggle with infrastructure overload, slums, and environmental degradation. Mumbai's population density of 20,000 people per square kilometer, Delhi's air pollution levels, and Bengaluru's traffic gridlock exemplify the unsustainable nature of current urbanization patterns. 

Gandhi's concept of gram swaraj (village self-rule) envisioned prosperous, self-reliant villages as the foundation of Indian democracy. Rural transformation represents the technological and economic realization of this vision, where villages become centers of innovation, production, and good governance. 

India's rural economy is valued at approximately ₹50 lakh crores, larger than the GDP of most countries. Even a 20% productivity improvement would add ₹10 lakh crores to national GDP. Comprehensive rural transformation could create 50 million new jobs over the next decade—25 million in agriculture and allied activities, 15 million in rural enterprises, and 10 million in services. Rural transformation could lift 150 million people out of poverty by 2035, reducing India's overall poverty rate from 21% to below 10%. Needless to say, this is the work-to-do on a needful basis in the present time and age. 

Let us look at how the modern villagers can look like. Picture this: A farmer in Rajasthan's arid landscape checks his smartphone for satellite data on soil moisture, orders fertilizer through an app, and later attends a virtual agriculture extension session led by an expert from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute. His children attend a digitally-enhanced village school where holographic teachers supplement local instruction, while his wife runs a small handicraft business that sells directly to global markets through e-commerce platforms. This isn't science fiction—it's the achievable vision of transformed rural India that could reshape the nation's development trajectory from the ground up.  

Imagine villages that combine the tranquility of rural life with urban-level amenities and opportunities. This isn't utopian thinking—it's an achievable vision based on emerging technologies and innovative governance models. With 5G networks extending to rural areas, villages could become centers for remote work, telemedicine, and digital education. A software developer in Uttar Pradesh could work for a Silicon Valley company while living in their ancestral village. The pandemic has already seen this trend, and these are emerging pieces of reality. 

Let us look at how a model village can look like. An Indian model village should be a living synthesis of ancient wisdom and modern innovation, where tradition and technology dance together in perfect harmony. It should preserve the soul of rural India—its community bonds, cultural richness, and environmental harmony—while embracing the tools of the 21st century to create prosperity, opportunity, and dignity for all its residents. Let us look a few examples of model villages in different areas. 

This Maharashtra village Hiware Bazar greets visitors with a stone archway displaying its transformation story—from a drought-prone settlement to a water-secure, prosperous community with 100% literacy and zero debt. 

Gujarat's Punsari village demonstrates perfectly modern community center featuring Wi-Fi connectivity, LED street lighting, and GPS-enabled buses, all integrated seamlessly with traditional Gujarati architectural elements. 

Anna Hazare's Ralegan Siddhi village in Maharashtra showcases how water conservation can become a source of community pride, with restored watersheds, rainwater harvesting, and zero water wastage policies. 

The Pochampally village in Telangana has created a textile cluster where traditional handloom weaving is enhanced with modern design inputs and direct market linkages, increasing weaver incomes fivefold. 

This Uttar Pradesh village Gyanpur has created a comprehensive education ecosystem where the government school performs better than many private urban schools, with 100% pass rates and multiple students clearing competitive examinations. 

The Dharnai village in Bihar became India's first fully solar-powered village, demonstrating how renewable energy can transform rural life while preserving the environment. 

The Mawlynnong village in Meghalaya is Asia's Cleanest Village which demonstrates how community pride and environmental consciousness can create a model settlement. With 100% literacy, complete cleanliness, and innovative waste management, Mawlynnong shows how villages can become tourist destinations while maintaining their character. 

Most importantly, Indian model villages should inspire the world with a new vision of development—one that is inclusive, sustainable, culturally rich, and deeply human. They should demonstrate that the future of humanity lies not in megacities that concentrate wealth and power, but in distributed prosperity where every community has the opportunity to thrive while maintaining its unique identity and contributing to the larger human story. 

As we have these tens of model village examples, the challenge is we need to create them in hundreds, thousands if not tens of thousands. Remember there are 6 lakh villages in India. Rather than attempting uniform transformation across all 600,000 villages—which would be resource-intensive and potentially ineffective—a strategic approach might focus on creating "rural urban centers" or "growth villages." Identify 10,000-15,000 strategically located villages to develop as growth centers serving surrounding areas are acting as hubs. Creating 10,000 model villages across India—roughly one per block—would require substantial but achievable investment. Conservative estimates suggest each model village would need ₹50-75 crores over a 10-year period, totaling ₹5-7.5 lakh crores nationally which can be very much within the resources available. By allocating resources and for the task of creating engines of growth, India would require these 10 to 15 thousand model villages up and running by 2035. 

There are some key figures who are already doing this work in the last decade or more and we need to really appreciate them. As Prime Minister, Modi has championed rural transformation through flagship programs like Digital India, Swachh Bharat, and PM-KISAN, allocating over ₹15 lakh crores across various rural development schemes. His vision of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas" (collective effort, inclusive development) aligns perfectly with bottom-up rural transformation. Under his leadership, rural development allocations have increased by 40% since 2014. The former Secretary of Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Parameswaran Iyer led the Swachh Bharat Mission, achieving 100% rural sanitation coverage—a remarkable feat that transformed 600 million lives. His systematic approach to behavior changes and infrastructure development provides a template for comprehensive village transformation. Through Reliance Foundation and Jio's rural connectivity initiatives, Ambani has invested over ₹20,000 crores in rural development and digital inclusion. There are many other leaders of foundations and local leaders who are already championing this cause tirelessly in the last many years. This should reach next levels and scale up dramatically if the huge Indian demands are to be met. 

The next many years will determine whether India becomes a developed nation through inclusive growth or continues the pattern of urban islands of prosperity in a sea of rural poverty. The choice is clear, the resources are available, and the time is now. Rural transformation isn't just an opportunity—it's an imperative for India's future and a gift to the world's development thinking. The villages of today could become the engines of tomorrow's prosperity. The question isn't whether rural transformation is desirable—it's whether we have the collective will to make it reality. The statistics support it, the leaders champion it, and the people need it. What remains is the commitment to turn vision into action and aspiration into achievement. Because more than anyone, the poor Indian farmer deserves it - the journey is tough, but hope thrives in every seed sown. And the rest of us are better served by taking care of this important aspiration.